In Search of Alexander A. Maximow: The Man Behind the Unitarian Theory of Hematopoiesis

Who was Alexander A. Maximow? This question is not an easy one to answer. He was a brilliant artist making beautiful drawings with dramatic precision. He was a polyglot speaking fluently English, German, French, and Russian. He was a handsome young general wearing tightly fit, elegant uniforms. He was an enthusiastic lecturer and a reckless mountain climber and world explorer. He was a refined Russian aristocrat alienated from his homeland. Maximow wrote "the world's most respected textbook in histology," a book that became a standard text for many generations of medical students and ran to 12 editions [1]. However, above all he was an outstanding scientist who developed and introduced a unitarian theory of hematopoiesis, a theory upon which our present concept of blood cells' origin and differentiation is based.